Ferdinand dittmar



(No Model.)

'1". DITTMAR.

SAFETY ATTACHMENT FOR GAS BURNERS. No. 314,000. Patented Mar. 17. 1885.

jection.

NITED STAT S PATENT GFFICIZO FERDINAND DITTMAR, OF TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA.

SAFETY ATTACHMENT FOR GAS-BURNERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersPatent No. 314,000, dated March 17, 1885.

' Application filed February 23, 1884. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FERDINAND DITTMAR, of Toronto, in the county of York, Province of Ontario and Dominion of Canada, have invented new and useful Improvements in Safety Attachments for Gas-Burners; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, which forms a part ofthis specification.

Theinvention relates to certain new and useful improvements in safety attachments to gasburners; and it consists in the novel features hereinafter described and claimed.

I am aware that platinum sponge has been used both singly andin connection with platinum wire for automatically relighting the gas when it has been blown out by accident.

I am also aware that platinum coils arranged vertically have been employed for the same purpose and lay no claim to such, broadly, as forming a part of my invention, as my invention consists in inclosing within and supporting by a convolution of the coil 51 platinum sponge, and in providing the coil with vertical ribs, whereby all tendency of the coil to collapse is avoided.

In the first instance, where the platinum sponge has been used with platinum wire, the latter has been arranged in a series of fine points extending from the sponge, and said points would serve to radiate the accumulated heat of the sponge, and thereby greatly reduce its temperature, which is a serious oh This objection I overcome by inclosing the sponge within one of the turns of a spiral coil, the latter serving to protect the sponge from direct contact with the cool draft of air by heating the same before coming in contact with the sponge, and the said coil serves also to heat the escaping gas before it reaches the sponge, and as the hydrogen in the gas is partially heated before being absorbed by the sponge the latter is more quickly raised to a point of incandescence. I have found by experiment that the efficiency of a coil increases by inserting into it a quantity of platinum sponge. Thus by inserting into a coil of twenty-three grains, linear length two feet, about ten grains of platinum sponge, I was able to relight the gas after shutting it off for three-quarters of a'minute, whereas the same coil without the sponge would not retain its efficiency beyond half a minute. This difference must be accounted for by the fact that the coil loses more .of its heat in a given time than the lump of sponge, the latter acting as a reservoir of heat.

In the accompanying drawing, which forms a part of this specification, A represents the gaspipe, B the cock, and O the burner, all of the usual construction. Secured to the burner is the coil-holder or supporting-fraine D. This consists of a ring of metal or other suitable substance, fastened on the burner by friction or otherwise, and a metal wire fastened to said ring and following the outlines of the fiame'far enough not to be too much affected by the heat. From the coil-holder there is suspended a coil of platinum wire, E, the lower end of which should rest on the tip and be fastened there in a suitable manner. The coil itself may be steadied by vertical ribs F of platinum wire. Near the center G of the coil there may be inserted a lump of platinum sponge, G, supported preferably on pieces of platinum wire. As to the length of the coil indispensable for its effectiveness, I have to enter into a short description of the appearance of the flame. Now, as anybody may observe, the flame consists of a dark zone adjoining the tip and a bright one above. Moreover, the elevation of the bright zone above the tip will vary. The elevation will be a maximum when the gas under the highest pressure is fully turned on and the corresponding bright zone may be called the zone ofgreatest elevation. This premised, I state that the coil must be long enongh to reach into the bright zone of greatest elevation.

Should this be neglected-if, for instance, the

top thread of the coil terminatesbelow the boundary line of thetwo zonesthe coil would prove inoperative. The cause is that in the darlrzone the air, an indispensable agent of combustion in either of the before-mentioned stages, is either partly or wholly missing. From the foregoing explanation it will appear how the safety attachment with slight modifications may be adjusted to any gas-burner of whatever size or shape.

I may add that platinum sponge alone inserted in a suitable way into the flame answers in a measure the purposes of a safety attachment. Yet the circumstances in which a lump of platinum sponge alone would have the same effect as a coil are of rare occurrence.

This will happen,forinstance, where we have 5 to deal with aflame of nearly unchangeable size.

From the foregoing statements it is evident that platinum may be used as a safety attachment not only when gas is used for illuminating, but equally well when it is used for cooking or heating purposes, and that it further applies to all gases which ignite at a temperature of incandescent platinum.

What I claim as my invention is 1. As a safety attachment to gas-burners and as a means for relighting the gas issuing therefrom, a platinum coil arranged vertically over said burner, and a platinum sponge, G, inclosed within and supported by a convolu 20 tion of the said coil, substantially as described.

2. As a safety attachment to gas-burners and as a means for relighting the same, aplatinum coil arranged vertically over said burner, and provided with vertical ribs connecting the different parts of the coil together, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. A safety attachment to gas-burners, consisting of the following elements: a wire-holder, D, substantially following the contour of the flame, platinum coil E, provided with 0 vertical ribs F, and platinum sponge G, inclosed within a convolution of said coil, the whole being constructed and arranged as shown and for the purpose specified.

FERDINAND DITTMAR. \Vitnesses:

JOHN D. KIELY,

F. M. KIELY. 

